Cotton cleaner and feeder.



No. 744,807. PATENTED NOV. 24, 1903; M. F. & J. H; SBWARD. COTTON CLEANER AND FEEDER.

, APPLIUATION FILED MAR.5,1903.

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E M. P. & J. H. SBWARD.

COTTON ELEANEE'AND FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED 11118.5. 1903. N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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NITED STATES Patented November 24, 1903 PATENT tries.

COTTON CLEANER AND FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,807,

dated November 24:, 1903.

Application filed March 5, 1903. Serial No. 146,351. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, MARION F. SEWARD and JOSEPH H. SEwARD,citizens of the United States, residing at Elmendorf, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, haveinvented a new and useful Cotton Cleaner and Feeder, of whichthe following is a specification.

Our present invention relates to a cotton feeder and cleaner of the type usually employed intermediate of a chute and a cottongin to feed the cotton to the gin from the chute and to effect a thorough cleaning of the cotton in transit.

positively feed the cotton to a spiked cylinder rotating adjacentto a screen. During the passage of the cotton over the screen it is relieved of a considerable portion of the debris retained thereby prior to its delivery to the gin through a suitable discharge-chute.

While this arrangement of parts is characteristic of approved feeders, it is accompanied by certain disadvantages which have been eliminated by the present invention. For instance, the feed of the cotton is more or less irregular. In the first place the cotton located between and immediately above the feed-rollers is packed by its fall through the chute and is further packed or forced down by the weight of the superposed body or column of cotton therein. As a consequence there is an overfeeding of the gin as long as the chute contains a considerable body of cotton, and as the cotton is gradually exhausted from the chute the lessening of its weight effects a corresponding reduction of the feed, and the cotton, instead of being forced between the feed-rollers, is drawn down by the action of the cylinder. This irregularity of thefeed is'augmented still further by the variation of the body of cotton above the feeder. As the cotton is deposited in the chute or vacuum-box, asit is sometimes called, it is piled higher in certain places than in others, the result being that the cotton forced down between the feedrollers will not be of uniform density throughout the extent thereof-that is to say, the cotton at one end of the rollers, for instance, may be of greater density than the cotton passing'between the rollers at the same time but at a different point.

Ordinarily a pair of feedrolls are located at the bottom of the chute to The primary object of our invention is to produce a combined cleanerand feeder adapted to be employed in connection with a vertical chute or vacuum box and which will thoroughly clean the cotton and feed it to the gin with absolute regularity and uniformity.

A further object of the invention is to so organize and arrange the parts of the feeder that the interior structure may be readily exposed for the purpose of cleaning or repairing the same.

To the accomplishment of these objects and others subordinate thereto the invention in its preferred embodiment resides in the features of construction andlarrangement to be hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and succinctly defined in the appended claims.

In the said. drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the apparatus complete, and Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the sub ject-matter of Fig. 1.

Like numerals are employed to designate corresponding parts in both Views.

1 indicates a vertically-disposed chute or vacuum-box into the upper end of which the cotton is deposited by an elevator or conveyer in the usual manner. Below the chute 1 is located the casing 2 of our feeder and cleaner. This casing is preferably of rectangular form, as shown, and is supported by suitable brackets 3 and legs 4, the latter being designed for the support of that end of the casing to which the lower extremity of the chute 1 is connected.

Within the upper part of the casing 2, below the chute 1, is arranged an endless belt or carrier 5, passed around belt-rollers 6 and 7, whose shafts are journaled in the opposite sides of the frame. If preferred, suitable provision for taking up the slack in the belt 5 may be made by passing the opposite ends of the shaft '7" of the roller? through slots 8 in frame extensions 9, and by connecting the ends of said shafts to tension-bolts 10, arranged for adjustment by the thumb-nuts 11 or other suitable adjusting device, the rollers 6 and 7 are located in different horizontal planes, so that the runs of the belt 5 are given more or less inclination. The roller 6 is disposed horizontally in a vertical plane beyond the front wall 12 of the chute 1, so that the belt or carrier is made to extend a considerable distance beyond said wall, for a purpose to be made apparent. The wall 12 terminates somewhat above the upper run of the belt to define a feed-throat 13, through which the cotton is designed to be fed from the chute 1, the size of the throat being preferably regulated by an adjustable feed-board 14, retained in its adjusted positions by suitable retaining devicesas, for instance, bolts 15 passed through slots 16 in the wall 12 and through the feed-board and provided with thumb-nuts 16, designed to be manipulated in an obvious manner.

Beyond the front end of the belt or carrier 5 is located a horizontal toothed or spiked feed-roller 17, having its axis located in the plane slightly higher than that of the beltroller 6, so that said roller 17 will be disposed in position to obstruct the layer-of cotton carried forward beyond the end of the belt. The roller 17 and the adjacent end of the belt 5 are separated by a suitable interval, directly below which is journaled a spiked picker-cylinder 18, the lower half of which is surrounded by a screen-concave 19, hinged at one edge, as indicated at- 20, and retained in position by a latch 21. In rear of the cylinder 18 is a second picker-cylinder 22 of similar character, having its lower side surrounded by a second screen-concave 23,which, like the concave 19, is hinged at and retained in place by a latch 21.

The rear Wall of the casing 2 is provided just below the lower run of the belt 5 with an opening 24, from which extends a downwardly-inclined discharge-spout 25, through which the clean cotton is discharged to the The casing 2 is provided with a hopper-bottom defined by a pair of swinging doors 26 and 27, hinged to the opposite sides of the trough 28, withinwhich is located a worm conveyor 29, designed for the removal of the debris which drops through the screen-concave and gravitates down the opposite sides of the hopper-bottom to the trough.

The operation of the deviceis as follows: The body of cotton within the chute 1 rests upon the endless belt or carrier 5, which by the rotation of the rollers 6 and 7 is moved at a slow rate of speed in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2. Usually these rollers will make not more than two revolutions a minute. The forward movement of the upper run of the belt or carrier will feed the cotton through rate of speed-say about three revolutions a minute; but since its diameter is somewhat greater than that of the adjacent roller 6 its periphery will move at a slightly-greater speed than the opposed belt. As the forwardlymoving layer of cotton above the belt is intercepted by the feed-roller 17 it will be forced back so as to effect more or less packing or condensation of the cotton located within and directly above the interval between the feedroller and the belt. At the same time this body of uniformly packed cotton will be slowly moved downward toward the pickercylinder 18, which rotates at a high rate of speed, approximately two hundred revolutions per minute in the direction of the arrow. This cylinder is designed to tear 01f a uniform quantity of cotton from the body held between the feed-roller and belt and to throw it violently against the screen-concave 19, from which it is carried to the cylinder 22, which carries it violently through the second concave 23, and finally delivers it to the discharge-spout 25.

Particular attention is directed to the fact that the cotton is not forced down to and through the first concave by the action of feed devices or by the weight of a superposed body of cotton, but that, on the contrary, the weight of the column of cotton in the chute is sustained by the belt or carrier, which feeds a predetermined quantity of cotton and dis tributes it in a uniform layer thereafter condensed between the feed-roller and belt, the latter elements serving to impart such slight movement to the body of cotton located in the interval between them as will insure its presentation within the range of action of the cylinder 18. The cotton will be thoroughly cleaned as it is carried violently through the two screen-concaves in succession, and as it is impossible for the device to overfeed or to feed light thoroughly cleaned cotton will be fed to the gin with regularity and uniformity. While, however, the present embodiment of the invention is-believed at this time to be preferable, we do not, desire to be understood as limiting ourselves to the structural details defined, as, on the contrary, we reserve the right to effect such changes, modifications,

and variations of the illustrated structure as may fall properly within the scope of the protection prayed.

What we claim is 1. In a cotton cleaner and feeder the combination with a casing having entrance and discharge openings, of an endless carrier located below the entrance-opening, a feedroller located beyond one end of the carrier to obstruct the forward movement of the cotton and to assist in condensing the cotton in the interval between the carrier and roller, a spiked cylinder located directly below said interval to remove the cotton therefrom, and a screen over which the cotton is carried by the cylinder, in transit to the discharge-opening of the casing.

2. In a cotton cleaner and feeder the combination with a casing having entrance and theinterval,a second pickencylinder between discharge openings, of an endless carrier located below the entrance-opening and extended beyond the plane thereof, a feedroller located Wholly beyond the extended end of the carrier and projecting both above and below the plane of the upper run thereof, said carrier and roller being operated at low speed to feed the cotton to the interval between said elements and to effect its condensation therein, a spiked cylinder located directly below said interval and rotating at high speed to remove the cotton, and a screen over which the cotton is carried by the cylinder, in transit to the discharge-opening of the casing.

3. In a cotton cleaner and feeder, the combination with a casing having entrance and discharge openings, of a carrier located opposite the entrance-opening, means cooperating with the carrier to distribute the cotton evenly thereover, a feed-roller located beyond the end of the carrier and separated therefrom by an interval in which the cotton is accumulated and condensed by the conjoint action of the carrier and roller, a picker-cylinder arranged to remove the cotton from said interval and a screen over which the cotton is carried by the cylinder.

4. In a cotton cleaner and feeder the combination with a casing having entrance and discharge openings, of a carrier within the casing, a chute located above the carrier and having the lower edge of its front wall separated therefrom by a feed-throat, a feed-roller disposed beyond the end of the carrier to define an interval located beyond the vertical plane of the chute in which interval the cotton is condensed by the conjoint action of the carrier and roller, a picker-cylinder immediately below said interval to remove the cotton therefrom and ascreen over which the cotton is carried by the cylinder.

5. In a cotton cleaner and feeder the'combination with a casing having a vertical entrance-chute and a discharge-opening, of a carrier located within the casing below the chute and separated from the lower end of the front chute-wall by a feed-throat, an adjustable feed-board for regulating the size of the throat, a feed-roller located beyond one end of the carrier to define an interval in which a uniform layer of cotton receivedv from the feed -throat is accumulated and packed by the action of the carrier and feedroller, a spiked cylinder directly below said interval to remove the cotton therefrom and a screen-concave cooperating with the cylinder to clean the cotton in transit to the discharge-opening.

6. In a cotton cleaner and feeder the combination with a casing having entrance and discharge openings, of a carrier within the casing opposite the entrance, a feed-roller lo-- cated beyond one end of the carrier, to define an interval from which the cotton is fed, a picker-cylinderdisposed immediately below the first picker-cylinder and the dischargeopening of the casing, and screened concaves extending partially around the picker-cylinders.

7. In a cotton cleaner and feeder the combination with a casing having an entranceopening in its top and a discharge-opening in its rear wall, of a vertical chute disposed above the entrance-opening, an endless carrier located below the chute and extended under and beyond the front wall of the latter, a feed-roller mounted within the casing beyond the front end of the carrier to define an interval in which the cotton is condensed by the conjoint action of the carrierand roller, a picker-cylinder directly below and immediately adjacent to the interval between the carrier and the feed-roller to remove the cotton therefrom, a second picker-cylinder located below the carrier and between the firstnamed picker-cylinder and the dischargeopening, and a pair of screen-concaves extending conjointly from the front wall of the casing to the rear wall thereof, each of the concaves-being disposed below a picker-cylinder.

8. In a cotton cleaner and feeder the combination with a casing having entrance and discharge openings of a substantially horizontal carrier within the casing, a feed-roller beyond the front end of the carrier, a picker-cylinder disposed to remove the cotton from the interval between the carrier and feed-roller, a hinged screen-concave surrounding the lower side of the picker-cylinder, and a door located in one wall of the casing to facilitate access to the screen, which when swung on its hinge permits access to the picker-cylinder.

9. In a cotton cleaner and feeder the combination with a casing having entrance and discharge openings, of a pair of picker-cylinders located in the casing and arranged to receive the cotton one from another, means for feeding cotton within the range of action of one of the picker-cylinders, and a pair of screen-conoaves surrounding the lower sides of the picker-cylinders, said concaves being hinged at their adjacent edges.

10. In a cotton cleaner and feeder the con1- bination with a casing having entrance and discharge openings and a hopper-bottom, of hinged doors at opposite sides of said bottom, a pair of screen-concaves extending conjointly from the front wall of the casing to the rear wall thereof, and hinged at their adjacent edges, whereby either concave may be swung down, a picker-cylinder located above each concave and arranged to receive cotton one from the other, and means for feeding the cotton within the range of action of one of the picker-cylinders.

11 In a cotton cleaner and feeder, the combination with a vertical chute, of condensing mechanism located out of the vertical plane of said chute, and comprising condensing members, between which the cotton is condensed, means for conveying cotton to the condensing mechanism from the chute, and

cleaning mechanism including a screen and a picker-cylinder, the latter being disposed in cooperative proximity to the condensing mechanism to engage and uniformly remove the condensed cotton.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our own We have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

MARION F. SEWARD. JOSEPH H. SEWARD.

Vitnesses:

E. A. SEIDEMAN, L. L. KELLAM. 

